A good link about the casino industry

I haven't stopped by the Stiffs and Georges blog for a while, shame on me.  The ins and outs of the gaming business is interesting to me, although a good deal of it is over my head, non-businessman that I am. 

I popped in and found a great post today.  David McKee actually does understand these things, and, like me, he is a bit suspicious about the whole Sahara rebuilding/rebranding process.

Anyway it's interesting stuff, and a great blog.

Five Weeks for Sahara Sam

Now have a nice day.

My Hotel Choices.........Maybe

So I have my flights booked for April.  Now I need a place to sleep.

Maybe I'm a bit early to be booking rooms, but I enjoy the process.  I will watch the rates for a while, see if any good offers drift in, and be ready to jump on the right rate.

I have made a bit of progress though, and thought I would just share.

I'm pretty cheap, to begin with.  My standards for a hotel room are pretty lax.  Here's what I need:

• Location
• Clean
• Comfortable
• A good greasy breakfast, preferably with a waitress who calls me "Hun."
• A good bar, with a good TV setup and a barman who calls me "Chief", or "Boss", or something like that.  I hate it when barmen call me sir.
• Cheap (did I say that already?)

So, yes, as far as customers go, I'm easy like Sunday morning.

Since I have such simple tastes, staying in places like the Cosmo, Wynn, Venetian, or any of the high-end places would be pretty much wasted on me.  Nice places all, lovely even, great to visit. But not worth the money, not for me.

I had it in my head that Hard Rock or Tropicana might be good places to try, but a quick check of rates crossed them off my list. Tropicana, in particular, was ridiculously high for my dates, which is too bad because I really like gambling there.  Hard Rock wasn't as bad, but it is also off the strip, and I'm pretty sure that I'm not really cool enough to stay there.  So cross those places off my list.

MGM's MLife website doesn't work, so I can't even check rates.  Guessing they really don't want me to stay there.  Too bad, Monte Carlo was pretty high on my list of possible spots.  Not eliminating it completely, but not looking good right now.

I've always been happy enough with the CES hotels, having stayed at both Planet Hollywood and Bally's.  I liked them both, Bally's a bit more.  I'm getting good rates right now at both Flamingo and Harrahs, at the moment I'm leaning towards Flamingo.  But not ready to commit yet.

I could get a great rate at the Quad, (used to be Imperial Palace), but there is construction there, and the reviews on the place are mixed, at best.  I'm cheap, but not that cheap.

I'm also considering staying downtown.  I like the Fremont Street area, and have stayed down there before.  Rates at the D Resort (used to be Fitzgeralds) seem pretty good right now.

As of today, that's where my thinkings at.  But my thinking will probably change.

I'll throw out another of my favorite links, www.vegaschatter.com  Check it everyday, it's constantly updated.


Thanks for reading.

I just booked for April..........

I have been watching airfares from Boston for a while now, and one finally popped up that I can live with.

So I'm going in three short months.  WOOHOO.  You have to love blowing your tax return before you even file.  That's how I roll.  I guess

I have no idea where I will be staying, but, as always, I'll be looking on the cheap side.  Because that's how I roll too.  Low.

Right now, having put less than an hour's thought into this trip, I'm considering staying downtown.  Some people hate the downtown area, but I'm a fan of good old Fremont St.  I'm also a fan of cheap. Maybe I've mentioned it before. 

I will, however, bide my time a bit and see what the sometimes fickle gods of comps will through my way.

So, if you are semi-interested, stay tuned. 

I'll also throw out a link I've referenced before, but it's worth repeating - http://www.fremontstreetbars.com/ . They don't pay me for pimping them or anything, but I'm open to all forms of corruption.

Have a nice day.